FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT NAPPY - PAGE 3

Don't be fooled by the retro name, country-bumpkin persona and the Western Kentucky background; Nappy Roots is as imaginative, talented and exciting a rap ensemble as any in hip-hop. The cover of the band's superb new CD "Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz" (Atlantic) might suggest Nappy Roots is a quaint "Hee-Haw"-style novelty, but the cuts inside offer a master class in old-school scratching, incredibly catchy groove-shaping and brilliantly fluid, intricate rapping. NAPPY ROOTS performs at a late show Saturday at House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St. $23.50.

Nappy Roots has a peculiar recipe for hip-hop success. In an era dominated by Eminem's rage raps, Nelly's sex- and materialism-driven boasts and Ja Rule's pseudo romantic thug offerings, the Bowling Green, Ky., based rap sextet has become a sensation by rapping about being poor. Catchy, humble singles "Awnaw" and "Po' Folks" have led to sales of more than 725,000 copies of Nappy Roots' first major label album, "Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz," according to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks album sales.

Timing is everything in comedy, and the timing was right for sketch comedy duo Straight & Nappy to develop its latest show, "Love Indifferent: Album in Stores Now." Castmates Pip Lilly and Rebecca Jackson, as well as their director, Dre Robinson, were at various points in relationships when they sought a topic to lampoon earlier this year. Lilly had just moved in with his partner, Jackson's fiance had died in a motorcycle accident, and Robinson had just married. Because the subject was influencing all three of them (another bond they share is losing their fathers within months of one another)

Nappy Brown, a blues and R&B singer whose playful songs of the mid-1950s -- filled with nonsense syllables, eccentric pronunciation and a heavy beat -- had touches of early rock 'n' roll style, has died in Charlotte, where he lived. He was 78. The cause of his death Saturday was respiratory failure, said Scott Cable, his friend and producer. Cable said Mr. Brown, who had returned to recording and touring in recent years, suffered from various ailments since he collapsed in June at a festival in New Jersey.

Nappy Roots Wooden Leather This Kentucky rap sextet's major-label debut, 2002's stellar "Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz," established it as a credible, thoughtful hip-hop crew that embraced its humble country beginnings. The group's second straight knockout of an album builds on the themes of struggle and the simple life that it explored on "Watermelon." "Leave This Morning" and "Work in Progress" are soulful ruminations about personal perseverance, while the single "Roun' the Globe" features the group illustrating how people have more in common with their Southern neighbors than they realize.

Several female New York City police officers have accused sergeants of insulting them by echoing remarks of radio host Don Imus. A 15-year veteran detective of the NYPD said Sunday that a sergeant told her not to give him "lip," or he'd call her "a nappy-headed ho." Another sergeant has been reassigned after being accused of referring to female officers as "ho's," said Michael Collins, the NYPD's assistant chief of public information.

Friends and family mourned after a 45-year-old mother and neighborhood beauty shop owner was killed early Sunday, apparently in her apartment building in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. Yolanda Holmes, of the 1000 block of West Montrose Avenue, was shot shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday, police said. Police were still investigating Holmes' death Sunday evening. No one has been charged in the shooting. Holmes, mother of a 22-year-old son, was well-known in Uptown as the owner of the Nappy Headz salon for about 16 years, her family and colleagues said.

Adoption option: President Clinton has proposed a federal Internet site to help 100,000 children waiting to be adopted. Clinton said the site could serve "as an on-line link between foster care centers and families looking to adopt." Clinton unveiled his proposal last Tuesday at an adoption ceremony at the White House. Culture shock: A white teacher who read a book called "Nappy Hair" to her mostly black and Hispanic 3rd graders has been transferred out of her New York classroom.

A white teacher accused of racial insensitivity for using a children's book titled "Nappy Hair" with her mostly black and Hispanic 3rd-graders will be allowed to return to the classroom, school officials said Wednesday. Ruth Sherman, 27, was temporarily transferred out of Public School 75 in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, after being confronted by parents and other residents at a meeting Monday. A Board of Education spokesman said Wednesday that school officials believe Sherman "may have used poor judgment" in choosing a book whose title may offend some people.

R&B newcomer Ashanti, whose singles "Foolish" and "Happy" transformed the 22-year-old singer into a soul sensation this year, received a leading five American Music Award nominations Tuesday. The 20 awards will be presented in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, aired live on ABC. Pop/rock and hip-hop/R&B nominees follow. Awards also will be given in the country, Latin, alternative, adult-contemporary and soundtrack categories. Pop/Rock nominees Male Artist: Eminem, Enrique Iglesias, Nelly.